AG Holder: Protect voting rights provision

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Eric Holder says that preserving a Voting Rights Act provision facing a Supreme Court challenge is essential to defending the rights of millions of Americans.

Appearing Tuesday night at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston, the attorney general cited recent court battles waged by Justice Department lawyers on voting rights as underscoring the need to keep the Voting Rights Act of 1965 intact.

A month ago, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a constitutional challenge to part of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965. At issue is Section 5, which requires all or parts of 16 states with a history of discrimination in voting to get federal approval before making any changes in the way they hold elections.